When to Plant Marigold in Long Beach, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant marigold is to look at the USDA zone info for Long Beach.


Planting Calendar for Marigold

Frost tolerance for marigold: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since marigold are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant marigold
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant marigold
Probably not a good time to plant marigold

The earliest that you can plant marigold in Long Beach is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant marigold and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your marigold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your marigold indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Long Beach. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Long Beach and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Long Beach there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your marigold in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.